Using a number of ice cores drilled from 14 areas in the lakes around the Arctic along with tree rings and glacier ice, researchers have produced overwhelming evidence to negate nay sayers' supposed theory that global warming is a natural trend

In fact, given that the natural wobble of the Earth has placed the Arctic further away from the sun means that naturally, the arctic should have gotten a degree or so cooler. Instead it has gotten more than a couple of degrees warmer and temperatures have been higher this past 10 year period from 1998 to 2008 than it has been in over 2000 years. If pollution and human activity were not interfering with the environment, the natural trend of the Arctic would be to cool, so arguments that these rising temperatures is a normal cycle simply do not hold.

Researchers, lead by Darrell S. Kaufman , a leading climatologist from Northern Arizona University, also pointed out that the Arctic region has actually warmed at a rate three times faster than the rest of the planet due in part to an occurrence known as the Arctic Amplification Effect. Ice and the bright white snow of the typical arctic act as a reflector of the sun; however, when that ice begins to melt and is replaced by water, vegetation, or unfrozen ground heat begins to get absorbed which increases the warming trend.

To make things worse, as the ice and glaciers begin to melt, pockets of methane are released which is only adding to the problem since methane is also a greenhouse gas. Additionally, as this ice melts sea levels will continue to rise threatening coastal communities around the world. Experts estimate a possible rise of 6 to 9 feet which could be devastating.

The sediment levels, tree rings, and melting rate all work together to show us a clear picture of the environmental past of the Arctic. All of the evidence showed one clear trend, that the warming of Arctic did not begin until the Industrial Age had started and we began release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels which are a major source of pollution.

With such overwhelming evidence, some are hopeful that the global warming deniers will finally quite the non-productive debate over the causes of global warming and work together in positive ways to find solutions before the problem becomes so severe that we can no longer address it.

Read more about the study at: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/307626